The Mecha-Kai Species During Dimensional Travel

In a certain cave within the mountains.

A thin, bizarre male figure resided there, draped in a cloak and wearing a mask woven from the skins of various animals.

Before him, countless biological corpses lay scattered about, leaving only the central area empty.

A pair of pitch-black, hard giant horns atop the man's head marked him as a Demon.

Standing in this room filled with bodies, he raised one hand toward the center, muttering incantations under his breath...

Then, black energy surged up from the magic circle on the ground, grabbing two corpses—a brown bear and a bird-like monster as large as the bear—and wrapping them together.

Beneath the mask, his pitch-black pupils, devoid of whites like bottomless voids, stared fixedly at the mass of "something" being kneaded together by the black energy within the circle.

Like playing with clay, that energy acted as a giant hand, mashing the two corpses into a lump, then flattening and reshaping them.

Soon, a grotesque Fusion Beast was born, with a bear's body, the lower half of a bird monster, and a pair of wings.

Once the shaping was complete, the black energy burrowed into this newly crafted flesh.

But in the very next second.

The flesh of this bizarre monster began to dissolve, turning into a pool of liquid, and eventually evaporated without a trace.

"Failed again. It seems the combination of these two species is unstable."

The man stared at the now-empty ground, a hint of regret in his voice.

"Still, I suppose it's to be expected. Even I couldn't imagine what the fusion of these two creatures would look like."

[Magic] is a world of imagination. If even the caster cannot conceive of something, then naturally, the magic will not succeed.

[Magic] is not [Wishing]; it cannot achieve what the caster cannot imagine. To successfully cast it, the caster must also have an understanding of the corresponding knowledge for true success.

For example.

Take "flame." To cast [Flame Magic], one must understand how "flame" is formed and clearly grasp every detail and reaction in the process of forming it, only then can one successfully release [Flame Magic].

In short, imagination is indeed important, but it's not enough on its own. A Magic User must also possess detailed relevant knowledge, because if you don't understand it, how can you imagine the process? (Except for certain geniuses or oddballs...)

Years of accumulated learning and exploration continuously expand a Magic User's experience and knowledge.

Demons have lifespans nearly as long as Elves, and they inherently possess a congenital advantage in learning magic.

As for why even 500-year-old Demons are rare, it's simply because they die quickly. All races are extremely hostile to Demons, and Demons themselves have a bit of a "fight, enjoy" mentality, so fewer live to that age.

But I digress.

Take the magic this Demon is currently using.

It's the magic he has devoted himself to over his three hundred-plus years of life.

[Fusion Magic]

The art of fusing two or more creatures into a brand-new Synthetic Magic Beast.

To this end, through relentless experimentation, he has acquired a certain degree of biological knowledge.

However, for now, he cannot yet fuse monsters that are too outrageous.

He can only manage combinations within mammals or within insects. Once he tries mixing different types, like just now, it collapses instantly.

"I need more experiments."

The man pinched his chin, beginning to consider his next plan.

But just then, other sounds interrupted his thoughts.

Another Demon rushed in, shouting urgently:

"Lord Chard."

"...What is it."

This Demon named "Chard" was clearly a bit annoyed at having his thoughts disrupted, but he knew his subordinate wouldn't dare barge in at such a time unless it was important.

"A human has arrived outside the facility."

"A human?"

Hearing it was a human, Chard was a bit puzzled. If it was just a human, why was it necessary to report to him?

"What's so special about this human?"

Occasionally, humans would pass by here—it wasn't rare. In the past, there had been cases where human adventurers or human warriors came to this experimental site to hunt monsters or for other reasons.

But every single one had been devoured by his creations, and his subordinates had dealt with it countless times.

So for them to specifically interrupt his experiment to report, the severity must be considerable.

"This human is stronger than any we've encountered before. They've already killed most of the Synthetic Beasts stationed at the entrance."

Cold sweat had already broken out on this Demon underling's forehead. The Demon's strong survival instinct filled his heart with fear.

Even beasts fear danger and avoid harm, let alone Demons.

"Oh?"

"So where is this human now?"

To this, Chard showed no emotion, merely calmly inquiring about the intruder's information.

This laboratory was built by tunneling through the mountain. If someone invaded from the entrance, it would take over ten minutes to reach the current location.

And along the way were countless Synthetic Magic Beasts that Chard had spent years creating—monsters he had modified and fused, turned into puppets that obeyed only him.

They would not harm his subordinates, but would launch fierce attacks on any outsider.

Each one possessed considerable strength.

But just as he was still asking his subordinate for more details—

"That human, she doesn't—"

A violent crash came from above...

Boom boom boom—

A large swath of trees snapped from the impact.

The ground in this entire area was covered with traces of battle.

A Giant Spider, a full five meters in size, was rampaging through the forest. Ahead of it was a boy who looked only eight years old.

The monster's target was clearly that boy.

And the situation now was: the boy running ahead, the monster chasing behind.

Suddenly, the monster raised its forelegs and leaped forward, its entire body soaring through the air. Then a bizarre scene unfolded.

The spider monster's abdomen split open, and two pairs of insect wings extended from within!

It was flying—it had grown wings and was flying!

"Tch, what kind of freak monster is this!?"

Takuson shoved his hand axe into his belt and grabbed the Sacred Canon hanging from the other side.

He cast spells while running.

"Goddess's Light Spear!"

A golden spear of light suddenly appeared, aimed straight at the spider's belly in the sky. The spear tip tore through space, shooting toward the target like a bolt.

The monster merely twisted its body casually and dodged the attack.

"With a body that huge, it's surprisingly agile. But my Light Spear isn't that easy to dodge."

The dodged spear immediately curved into a spin, striking from the monster's blind spot, coming at it from behind again.

But the monster seemed to sense the danger and quickly adjusted its posture to evade.

In the end, thanks to its timely dodge, the spear only pierced one of the spider monster's legs.

And that clearly enraged it.

It worked. Looks like if I increase the number, I can take it down.

Takuson realized the attack was indeed effective and felt a surge of joy.

At the start of the fight, he had struck first. But probably because his power wasn't enough, his sneak attack's killing blow hadn't pierced the monster's exoskeleton armor, and it had nearly put him in a very dangerous spot.

Fortunately, thanks to constantly challenging himself in the teacher's Training Ground, Takuson's physical reflexes were also extraordinary.

He quickly dodged out, leading to the scene of the monster chasing him.

He immediately prepared to cast again—this time, a barrage.

"Goddess's Ten Spears!"

But the moment he opened his mouth, the world before him was already covered in shadow...

Boom—!!!!

Xiu Er crashed down from the broken ceiling, carrying a pile of Synthetic Beast carcasses, landing right on the Demon who had come to report.

The [Gokurokugai] in her hand was driven straight into the Demon subordinate beneath her.

With no recovery lag from the high-altitude fall, the moment it struck, her arm swung the great sword across the Demon's body.

The flying head still wore a panicked expression, not yet realizing what had happened.

Chard had already evacuated the area the moment the ceiling cracked, casting an acceleration spell on himself and sprinting toward the exit.

No joke—that kind of behavior clearly marked her as a Warrior, and a very powerful one at that.

He wouldn't underestimate her. A human Warrior who could cut through all the defending Synthetic Beasts and reach this point must not be allowed to get close.

Chard was certain that within a certain distance, that Warrior would be able to kill him the instant he tried to cast a spell.

But while the thought was good, reality was harsh.

Chard's guess was correct—Xiu Er could indeed finish him. But he was also wrong: Xiu Er would never give him a chance to escape.

Crack—crack—

The exit, the walls, and the ceiling were all covered in ice. In an instant, this dark, damp, bloody space turned into a blue kingdom.

Chard touched the frozen exit before him. The sound of footsteps behind him gradually grew louder, like a death knell, each step pounding against his heart.

'What kind of magic is this?'

He looked at the ice. He realized there wasn't even a trace of magical energy on it, and he admitted that while this space could indeed be damp for various reasons, it was utterly incapable of supporting the formation of ice of that magnitude.

Tap, tap, tap.

The sound suddenly stopped, as if that human had halted ten meters behind him.

What was this about?

Chard didn't know, and he didn't want to know.

"Flame magic!"

He spun around instantly, unleashing a wave of fire that blanketed everything behind him.

Yet in his sight, the area engulfed by flames showed no figure at all. He thought he caught a glimpse of a blue-violet strand of hair to his right.

Then, abruptly, he sensed a dangerous aura coming from that direction.

Shlick—

An arm flew into the air, blood splattering everywhere.

"Ugh—!"

Before he could react to the pain in his severed arm, Xiu Er's next strike had already reached his abdomen.

The great sword easily sliced through his flesh.

Chard's upper body, along with his entrails, flew backward and slammed into a protruding spike of ice on the wall.

It hung him there, like a slab of meat on a butcher's hook.

As a Magic User, he knew all too well what happened when a powerful Warrior got close.

His current state was the answer—only the Demon race's robust vitality kept him clinging to life.

Staring at his lower half lying at the invader's feet, Chard figured that today, he was done for.